Small Hours
by Apapazukamori
Summary: While the whole wide world is fast asleep, you lie awake and think about the girl and never ever think of counting sheep...


Small Hours  
  
Sometimes, he wished he was an orin... oritha... or... someone who studed birds as a hobby. Granted, he would have to be the biggest geek in Japan if he was, but at least then he'd know what kind of feathered creatures woke him up in the morning. Spectacular things, these little birds. They ran on a clock all their own, always striking up the chorus at the same time every morning. The song remained the same, so the birds were not unlike a cheerful alarm clock.  
  
He would have appreciated it more had they not had a permanent setting for DAWN.  
  
School didn't start until nine, waking up at first light was ridiculous. Being the super special person he was, it was nothing to wake up with ten minutes until class started, shower, eat and tease his friends and still make it in time.   
  
Someone needed to reprogram the birds.  
  
Watching the sunrise every morning had its advantages, though. Besides the birds, everything else was quiet. He could greet the day long before anyone else did, prepare for the day without having to think about anyone or anything he didn't feel like thinking about. He didn't have to concern himself with trying to guess how many doctors he would see over the course of the day...   
  
How many times the earth might shake under his feet...   
  
How many times he might have to step in harm's way in order to protect someone he loved.  
  
At this time of the morning, most of those concerns found themselves at the farthest corner of his mind. This was his time. Of course, there was one thought that was with him no matter what time of the day it was. Every waking minute drew his attention to her in some way, but moreso in the morning when he lay in bed with nothing to do.   
  
And the thoughts which coursed through what most people thought to be a rather small brain were ones he would never tell a soul. More often than not, he remembered their first meeting.  
  
//"'Nee-chan, you're PRETTY."  
  
"I've decided, you're the one."//  
  
His first glance had told him she would be the woman who he would give his life for. Everything about her just radiated everything he'd ever wanted. She was serious, he wasn't. She was quiet, he wasn't. She was gorgeous, dedicated, no-nonsense and shy.   
  
She made him want to scream.  
  
All his life, he had been told two things: One, that his goal in life was to protect the Kamui. He was special, intregal to the salvation of humanity, should Fate wind up leaning his way. That was easy, he could deal with that. He'd help the Kamui save humanity; he'd be a hero.  
  
The second thing he was told was that his death would be for a woman. Not just any woman, but the woman he loved. Being the impulsive fellow he was, he knew it would be a love-at-first-sight type of situation. Like a meteor, it'd just fall out of the sky and BAM, there you go. Instant love. The whole idea was amazing and romantic and pretty damn cool.  
  
In theory.  
  
The first time he met her, he played the fool, hiding the stupifying fear that had nearly broken through and made him run in panic. She was his first love, his -only- love, and her appearance in his life sounded the death knell. Not even knowing that the battle for the End was beginning had scared him as much as she had. She terrified him at first; his alarm clock had been set, and he had no idea when it would go off. In all likelihood, he would never see the Final Battle. And there was no way to press for more time to be with her.  
  
Maybe that was why he was so... hyperactive... when he was around her. Every second with her was so important, because no one knew how much time they had. Did it matter she didn't love him? Sure it did, only an idiot wouldn't be hurt by constant rejection. But his fate was his fate, and he'd chosen. He could pretend everything was fine, just as he did when he met her, and hope that maybe she'd return his feelings before it was all over. 


End file.
